Rice Krispy Treat Kitties

I saw this adorable recipe on ricekrispies.com and just had to make them for Halloween. This was my first time ever making rice krispy treats. I had no idea what sort of "process" making them was going to be! LOL my arms are sore this morning, but they turned out tasty and look "cute".  So here's the recipe...but decorating them is all up to you.

Chocolate Rice Krispy treats

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz, about 40) regular marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter (the recipe did not call for peanut butter, but I don't think you can have chocolate without peanut butter, so this part is optional)
6 cups chocolate rice krispies cereal
canned frosting (or make it yourself, my mom made mine)

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter until melted.
Add cereal. Stir until well coated.
Cool slightly. Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, coated with cooking spray, divide warm cereal into portions and place on wax paper to cool slightly.

Using buttered hands, press each portion into a firmly packed ball. Let cool completely.
Decorate as desired.

So....they definitely didn't turn out like the picture, but they were still cute. They look more like Mice than Kitties, but they were fun to make all in all!

My favorite meatball recipe

I love these with spaghetti, but I want to try them on hoagie/sub rolls for a little Meatball Sub action! MMMM!  I also use this recipe when I am short of time... instead of making the meatballs and baking them, I just add this mixture to the skillet, cook it up and add the sauce directly to the pan. It's really really good. 

    1 pound extra lean ground beef
    1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    1 small onion, diced
    1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
    1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
    3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
    3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
    1 dash hot pepper sauce (such as Frank's RedHot)or to taste
    1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
    1/3 cup skim milk
    1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs


Preheat an oven to 400 degrees
Place the beef into a mixing bowl, and season with salt, onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

Finding our imagination

Recently while sitting in the waiting room at the Dr.'s office, I found myself reading an article in a parenting magazine about the affect TV watching has on children. I will admit, my children watched way too much TV in my opinion. I always made sure the shows were educational, but in the long run, TV is TV. The article said that children who watch more than 3 hours of TV a day are a 1/3 less creative/imaginitive than children who watch no TV at all. Now, I have no idea how accurate that statistic is, but it got me thinking...So I conducted a little experiment of my own. I took TV away from my kids. They get to watch about an hour to an hour and a half of TV a day. Surprisingly, Austin took to it immediately. He started to play more by himself...inventing little guns out of blocks, chasing monsters, pretending he's a cat... etc.  He also started to take a liking to Little People. I LOVE Little People. Since before Austin and Lucas had any sort of care for them, I have been stockpiling them from the thrift store. I don't think I have ever purchased one single Little People from the store. I buy all their houses, cars, garages etc at the thrift store.  The boys have been obsessed with them. It's so cute to watch Austin act out our life. He has a mommy, daddy and Lukie Little people along with a Jamie (our babysitter and my friend), a Joey (austin's little friend from Calera) and our neighbor, Mrs. Melanie.  It hasn't been a huge adjustment for them. I just don't turn the TV on. They don't fuss about it and they find something ELSE to do with their time. It also has given me more time to get MY stuff done around the house...it's a win win for us.

I'll take my dinner...in a cup...

No, not the kind of "cup dinner" like off Wall-E...I'm referring to baking a filling (savory is my favorite) in a biscuit cup. That's right. I LOVE them. I have been super obsessed with making every main dish into a "cup dinner".  These are a few of my favorite "cup dinners"--the possibilities are endless...


Taco Cups

1 lb of meat (turkey or hamburger)
taco seasoning pack
toppings of your choice (sour cream, tomatoes, salsa, lettuce etc)
1 can of jumbo biscuits in the tube

Preheat your oven per the instructions on the biscuit tube. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside. Prepare the taco meat according to the instructions on the taco packet. Set aside to cool. Take each biscuit from the tube and press them one by one into the muffin tin making a well in the center. Spoon the taco mixture into the biscuit well and bake according to the directions on the biscuit tube until browned. Top with whatever you want.


Sloppy Joe cups (these are my favorites)


1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 lbs meat
1 cup bbq sauce
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 can of jumbo biscuits in the tube

Preheat your oven per the instructions on the biscuit tube. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside. Cook the onion in 1 tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet. Brown meat and drain. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.  Take each biscuit from the tube and press them one by one into the muffin tin making a well in the center. Spoon the sloppy joe mixture into the cups and bake as directed on the package. I like to add colby cheese at the end of the baking and let it melt/brown on top for a nice addition.

I have a few more ideas on more types of cups. I am not sure of how they taste yet but once I try them I will write them down here.
Do you have any ideas on tasty cup dinners?

When life gives you lemons...make Strawberry Lemonade Bars!

I took these awesome awesome bars to my sister in law's deck party this summer. These are amazing. They are time consuming to make so I definitely will make them for special occasions, but this recipe is a definite keeper! Trying to get one full cup of fresh lemon juice is not for the weak. lol  I got this recipe from The Baker Chick and I am so glad I did!

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Crust


1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour


1/4 tsp salt

Filling


1 cup fresh lemon juice


2-3 tsp lemon zest

1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 3/4 cup berries)


1 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

 Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

Begin by making the crust.


In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until smooth and fluffy. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. Pour into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for about 17 minutes, until set at the edges.


While the crust bakes, prepare the filling. 
In the bowl of a food processor, combine lemon juice, lemon zest, strawberry puree, sugar and eggs and process until smooth. 

Add in flour, baking powder and salt, then pulse until smooth.


Gently pour the filling over the hot crust when it has finished baking. 

Return pan to oven and bake for 23-26 minutes, until the filling is set .
Cool completely before slicing and use a damp knife to ensure clean slices.
Store bars in the refrigerator, especially on a hot day.
 

Makes 24 bars.

Home Made Pizza Crust (NOM NOM NOM)

This is BY FAR my favorite pizza crust. I used to buy the pizza crusts in the tubes at the store, until I found this recipe. It's ridiculously easy and you probably have all or most of the ingredients in your pantry. I LOVE recipes that are quick, easy and fun to make. This is my go to recipe when I look into the pantry/refrigerator and cringe at what I DON'T have to cook for dinner! I got this crust recipe from "The $7 a Meal Cookbook" by Linda Larsen. I have several recipes out of this book and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to cook healthy, cheap, "whole" family pleasing meals.


PIZZA CRUST

1 tablespoon cornmeal
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup solid shortening
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup water

1. Preheat the oven to 425degrees. Grease a 12 inch pizza pan (or a cookie sheet that is greased is fine...as I do not have a pizza pan) with solid shortening and sprinkle with cornmeal. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt and mix well. Cut in shortening until particles are fine.  Add water and milk and stir until a dough forms. Press into pan and bake for 10 minutes.
2. Remove crust from the oven and top as desired. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-25 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is melted and beginning to brown. Let cool for 5 minutes and slice to serve.

I normally love to cook onions and garlic in butter until soft. I then add pizza sauce to the crust, the onion/garlic mixture, pepperoni and cheese. It sounds super simple but the pizza is awesome! Everyone in my family loves it =)

Pinecone Bird Feeders

My friend Crystal and I took the boys to the Leeds Memorial Park yesterday. While we were there, we collected pine cones. I had a cute idea to make pine cone bird feeders as a craft. These bird feeders are super easy and really fun! Here's what you need:


Pine cones (any size)
peanut butter
bird seed
ribbon

Take the pine cone and spread the outside with peanut butter. I really slathered it on. Put the bird seed in a huge bowl and press the pine cone into the seed to cover it completely. Shake off the excess. We tied a yellow ribbon on the top. Viola! You have home made bird feeders!

These are so cute. I can't wait to see if the birds actually eat the seed! I took some pictures and I will try to get them uploaded today.

We don't have a dog....where did THAT come from?

I am not a "furr mamma" and I don't have "furr babies".... so imagine my surprise when around the corner I walked and stooped down to pick up what I thought was a small dark bouncy ball next to the couch. Upon further inspection I realized that a) this was no bouncy ball b) it smelled c)I was holding it in my bare hand. Now, I have two small boys so I have pretty much seen it all with them...I have not however ever picked up a "excrement ball" with my bare hands. It wasn't one of those dainty little light pickups either... it was a full fledge all hands on" sort of grasps...considering that before I knew it was a "meadow muffin" I was already planning my next move which was to throw the ball into the toy bin. The next part was a blur. I'm not sure if I started gagging before or after I dropped it in surprise and instinctively picked it back up again (WITH MY BARE HAND) but I know for a fact that it took everything in me not to vomit in my living room.

The next order of business after a little Dial Antibacterial action was to figure out just who this "cow pie" belonged too. There was no naked baby running around...Lucas does tend to take off his diapers through his pants so I took a few seconds to double check him. He cleared the inspection. Next was Austin. I hate assuming anything with my kids (they prove you wrong TOO many times) so I checked him anyway...nothing.

At this exact moment I do remember sort of panicking that there was another (maybe bigger) hidden package somewhere in this house. So I began my search. I made the boys help me. I tried to not laugh as they yelled "POOOOP! Where are you POOOOOOP?" but I failed miserably. It was the funniest thing. As gross as the thought of actually finding something so their little scavenger hunt would reap some sort of "reward", I was actually enjoying watching them search for it!

Thank goodness we didn't find anything though, but I have made a new game. "poop find"
I was kidding about that last part.  *gross*

When the weather gets cold, we get hot around here!

One word...Chili. I love it.  I have the easiest recipe ever, but it sure is a hit around here. With a few ingredients that are probably in your pantry and a little bit of spare time, make this chili. It's pretty darn awesome if I do say so myself.

CHILI
1lb ground turkey or hamburger
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes (at walmart, they have the "chili ready diced tomatoes, which I just found and love)
1 package of McCormick Chili Seasoning
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of kidney beans
1 medium onion, diced
fresh garlic (I never measure my garlic b/c I love it so much, just add what you think is good)
salt and pepper

Brown the onion, garlic, turkey, s/p in a skillet, drain. In a crockpot, add the meat, and the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low until you are ready to eat it. Although, since everything is cooked, you really don't have to even put it in the crockpot... You can just cook it on the stove. If you do cook it on the stove, once you add the remaining ingredients, let it simmer for about 10 minutes before serving it.

I love to top mine with a TON of cheese and sour cream and eat it with saltines or cornbread. This recipe is also fabulous over hot dogs, rice, french fries...whatever you love chili on :)

Leaving..on a jet plane...

My husband left this morning to go to Colorado for work. I can go into the details of why, but I don't want to confuse/bore anyone. He will be gone for seven days. That's a long time with no hubby. In fact, it's the longest we have been apart in the nine years we have been together. *sigh* I hate being at home alone at night. Gah, I would make a horrible single person lol. Every creak of the house, moan of the kids, every squeak of the one personless bed...it sends me into a frenzy in the middle of the night. One of my favorite shows is Ghost Hunters. I can't watch that when I am in the house alone at night. It creeps me out! Yes, I am in fact one of those people. I guess I think there is going to be a rabid ghost breaking into the house at night to steal my soul. Who knows...either way, it's creepy and I don't like it. So here's to a quick seven days of being one person down in this house.

This bread's BANANAS

Okay, okay...stupid title I know. That being said and out of the way, this banana bread is fabulous. It's not a secret, I don't bake. I haven't mastered that craft. This bread was super easy, very quick and turned out wonderful. It also helped me use up some bananas and buttermilk that were close to expiring. I got the recipe on the Betty Crocker website and I am definitely sure I will use it again.

BANANA BREAD

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)

1/2cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.
Mix sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pans.
8-inch loaves about 1 hour, 9-inch loaf about 1 1/4 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.